Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post date December 28, 2007. I find this post fascinating now about three years later. My family is closer geographically and things aren't like this so much anymore. It is inevitable that the holidays bring not only massive doses of overindulging of food, gifts, food and ah yes, family time. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I really do. I love having all the family over to our house for the holidays. They get to see the tot open up gift after gift and I even love the winding up to the holiday/family time. What I don't love is the unsolicited advice. I know it is well-meaning. I know it is meant to be helpful too. I also know that it will grate my nerves and that I must brace myself for it with each visit. I know that I will be … [Read more...]
We Vant to be Alone
Being woken up at 5:30 in the morning by a four year-old whining that she is hungry is maddening. When that said four year-old is accompanied by a waving long-beamed flashlight that glows across your room making it feel like your being invaded by aliens? Well, that is just a recipe for evil. Throw in the four year-old then knocking on her sister's door while calling her name and you have two parents who can only dream of the fact that they are going away A-L-O-N-E this weekend while they grumble into their pillows and bemoan their early morning existence.That's right. Bright and early Friday morning we are dropping TD and The Comedian off at their grandparents house for a weekend of spoiled, late bedtimes, chicken nugget, juice box … [Read more...]
The 90’s
Next week I will be journey into the cold, arctic North known as New England. My grandmother is turning ninety. Ninety, y'all. That's a big-time, lets all party down event. Cake and ice cream will be served. There might be a sash or crown. Like my grandmother, this event will be ...wait for it...LEGENDARY.Sorry, I couldn't resist.Here is four generations of the family right here. Many more will be present and I can't wait. … [Read more...]
I Hear Nothing
You know what woke me up this morning? Myself. Then I sat there and read for almost an hour. I completed my latest MPR review in under twenty minutes. Make-up is strewn all over my bathroom counter and I don't have to pick it up in fear that little hands will commence their own smear campaign.I'm meeting a friend for lunch today that I haven't seen since she visited me in the hospital with The Comedian. I don't have to be back at any time in particular.H and I saw a movie in the middle of the day. We came home felt it was too quiet and went out for dinner. Crayons with place mats not included. TD and The Comedian left for their Nana's yesterday. Since then H and I have had the most stupid looking grins on our faces. I can actually hear the fan on my laptop just humming away. The … [Read more...]
Have You Seen My Rose-Colored Glasses?
The radio in the kitchen is playing its familiar morning radio show, the smell of coffee is wafting through the house and all the bags from our trip are unpacked. I stand completely amazed that we made it up to CT and back without much of a blip. Nothing blogworthy to write about in two whole eight hour drives. I just might have a place in parental history.I want to say a big thank you to our fellow travelers at the Delaware rest stop who stopped by our lunch table to remark on what beautiful children I have. It brightened my day and gave me a bit more energy to get back into the car with my two "angels". It would have been even better if one of those fellow travelers had read my mind and gotten me a steaming hot latte from the nearby SBUX, but no worries. This trip gets mixed … [Read more...]
Memories of my Grandfather
Sometimes when the whole house is still asleep, I will creep downstairs and read in the orange glow of my small kitchen light. I will pour myself a cup of coffee, settle into the quiet of my house, and just lose myself in whatever book I am reading. Later when I unfurl myself from my hunchback sitting position as I simultaneously realize that the sun has come up I remember this-Sometimes in the still dark early morning, I would creep out from beneath my Rocky and Bullwinkle sheets and peer out into the darkened hallway of my grandparent’s house. The sounds of my grandmother snoring quietly filled the space down at the end of the hall. Peering down the other end of the hall would always be one constant thing. The golden light over the kitchen table that would encircle my grandfather as … [Read more...]